


The Invitation

by cortue



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Saving Tumblr Fic, Set between 1.04 and 1.05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26734966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cortue/pseuds/cortue
Summary: Isabelle makes sure Magnus has Alec's number, after their first meeting.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood
Kudos: 2





	The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Tumblr April 2016 [here](https://cortue.tumblr.com/post/143183739159/the-invitation). Ported to Tumblr in 2020.

There are places Shadowhunters go and places Downworlders go. Izzy goes everywhere. A lot of things in life that seem out of place fit just fine if you don’t overthink them. Alec stopped making noise about it years ago when he realized that she came back with useful information a lot of the time. And her mother, well, her mother’s not here at the moment.

Unfortunately, no one else seems to be sticking around either tonight. Sure, everyone she talks to is friendly enough, but just as quickly as she starts a conversation, they find a way to end it. It’s subtle, subtle enough it’s probably too soon to call it a pattern they should be worried about, but she’s learned to trust her instincts. She’s ready to call this particular spot a waste of time and investigate elsewhere when who should walk in but the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

He makes a show of not spotting her immediately, of course. It doesn’t take much time with Magnus to realize he arranges everything on his own terms – especially an entrance. He’s wearing blue so dark it’s practically black with silver chain along the wrists and collar, hanging open at the front. She catches the bartender’s eye and holds up two fingers. Hopefully Magnus likes gin.

When he does finally see her, he has a perfectly arranged look of surprise on his face as he comes over. “Ah the lovely Ms. Lightwood, what a pleasant surprise. May I take a moment to compliment you on your excellent taste.” He indicates the necklace she’s wearing.

Izzy smiles easily. She sees no reason not to enjoy the compliment, even if she knows she’s not the Lightwood Magnus is looking for. “And your own in the process?” she asks, coy.

He inclines his head with a small smile of recognition. “Speaking of things we have in common, am I wrong in thinking you’re here alone tonight?” His eyes shift minutely to the left and right, checking her periphery.

“Not anymore,” she says. She gives him the second tonic and he takes it, looking genuinely surprised at the gesture. She feels her mood darken at why a little decency would be unexpected from someone like her, but she shakes it off. The big cruel world can stop a girl in her tracks if she lets it weigh on her – Izzy’s willing to start small.

“My brother doesn’t get out much,” she says. She offers the information as easily as the drink, like the pause between them never happened. It’s not exactly a state secret that her brother has no life. 

Besides, back when they were at Magnus’s, Alec had certainly been looking. Not in an overtly obvious way to most people, but certainly obvious to her. She saw how he made himself look at the windows, doors, corners, anything he was probably telling himself he should be paying attention to, and then to Magnus for a few beats too long before repeating the cycle. She’d caught his eye in the act and he’d tilted his head to one side, asking her what exactly was going on with this warlock. She’d given him an unimpressed shake of the head, making it clear she wasn’t going to let him feign ignorance around her. He pursed his lips slightly, in acknowledgement that yes, alright, maybe he did have some idea what’s going on but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to point out that things would be a lot simpler if people just acted as he expected them to, at all times. What a boring life that would be if they did. Magnus on the other hand, seemed exactly the kind of person that would keep things interesting.

“That’s a shame, I was hoping to see him again,” Magnus says. He looks down at his drink, tilting it from one side to the other and then taking a sip. It’s all very casual, she’s sure. She smirks at him when he looks up again and she can’t help but laugh at how easily he drops the act, quirking his lips in a small smile before shifting his demeanor to an overly charming gentleman. “I’ve been feeling remiss that I did not properly thank everyone involved in protecting my lair.” No mention of thanking Jace, she notes, but that’s hardly surprising. “Perhaps you could provide some guidance as to an appropriate token of my appreciation?”

“For my brother?” She snorts. “That’s easy. A concisely worded informative statement, something he can use to run the Institute better.”

Magnus looks perplexed, first, and then more than a little disappointed when he sees that she’s being completely honest. “That seems a little, well, less personal than I was imagining,” he admits.

“Oh, I agree,” she says. “Which is why I think you should call him and ask him out.”

“Well,” he huffs out after another pause, almost a laugh. “You Lightwoods certainly _have_ gotten more interesting.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Izzy says. She holds out her hand. “Phone.” He snaps his fingers and she’s holding a cell phone. She starts a little at the sudden weight of it and he takes a drink, obscuring another quirk of his lips. “Show off,” she chides him, but she’s grinning. She’s willing to bet he enjoyed being able to get her back for throwing him off guard in the first place. Oh, she’s definitely going to like him. 


End file.
